Human Cloning
Lynsey Brown, Essay #2, Human Cloning, EN101 - N, September 11th, 2001
Just as times change, so do the solutions to problems we are faced with. There is a certain point however, when we have to reevaluate just how much we should allow these new technologies to take over our lives. Human cloning holds extraordinary capabilities that definitely have the power to change our lives and the lives of future generations. Would it benefit us to have the capability to clone a human being? Perhaps, but do the pros outweigh the cons?
Think of the doors that human cloning could open. Couples plagued with infertility problems could reproduce readily and pass on their own genes. Why stop here? Why not make a business of cataloging children? Take pictures of the cloned child and include a short description that would allow prospective parents the choice of which child they want to raise. There's something very wrong with even suggesting this. Children are not objects nor should they be treated as such. A cloned child could lose his/her sense of individuality and create the burden of trying to follow in the donor's footsteps.
It's also been suggested that cloning be utilized by those who have lost loved ones and wish to bring them back into existence. If this form of cloning becomes widely accepted then the once fantastical idea of "eternal youth" is a definite possibility.1 Of course this would only be possible after "the process of consciousness was perfected" says affiliates of the website "Practical Uses of Cloning".1 Perhaps I am behind on new medical developments, but I wasn't aware that the process of consciousness could be perfected. What kind of life would the clone lead if he/she were created solely for the purpose of taking the place of a deceased loved one? The child doesn't have a chance to develop into his/her own person, but rather the person that they were meant to replace.
So far I have discussed the reproductive side of cloning, making
Just as times change, so do the solutions to problems we are faced with. There is a certain point however, when we have to reevaluate just how much we should allow these new technologies to take over our lives. Human cloning holds extraordinary capabilities that definitely have the power to change our lives and the lives of future generations. Would it benefit us to have the capability to clone a human being? Perhaps, but do the pros outweigh the cons?
Think of the doors that human cloning could open. Couples plagued with infertility problems could reproduce readily and pass on their own genes. Why stop here? Why not make a business of cataloging children? Take pictures of the cloned child and include a short description that would allow prospective parents the choice of which child they want to raise. There's something very wrong with even suggesting this. Children are not objects nor should they be treated as such. A cloned child could lose his/her sense of individuality and create the burden of trying to follow in the donor's footsteps.
It's also been suggested that cloning be utilized by those who have lost loved ones and wish to bring them back into existence. If this form of cloning becomes widely accepted then the once fantastical idea of "eternal youth" is a definite possibility.1 Of course this would only be possible after "the process of consciousness was perfected" says affiliates of the website "Practical Uses of Cloning".1 Perhaps I am behind on new medical developments, but I wasn't aware that the process of consciousness could be perfected. What kind of life would the clone lead if he/she were created solely for the purpose of taking the place of a deceased loved one? The child doesn't have a chance to develop into his/her own person, but rather the person that they were meant to replace.
So far I have discussed the reproductive side of cloning, making